Detection of hopping channel for unlicensed internet of things

ABSTRACT

Technology for a next generation node B (gNB) operable for frequency hopping in MulteFire communications is disclosed. The gNB can perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) for a selected hopping frequency. The gNB can identify a next hopping frequency in a set of hopping frequencies when an energy detection of the CCA is greater than a selected threshold. The gNB can encode data for a downlink transmission at a selected dwell time of a determined hopping frequency in the set of hopping frequencies when an energy detection of the CCA is less than a selected threshold.

BACKGROUND

Wireless systems typically include multiple User Equipment (UE) devicescommunicatively coupled to one or more Base Stations (BS). The one ormore BSs may be Long Term Evolved (LTE) evolved NodeBs (eNB) or newradio (NR) NodeBs (gNB) or next generation node Bs (gNB) that can becommunicatively coupled to one or more UEs by a Third-GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) network.

Next generation wireless communication systems are expected to be aunified network/system that is targeted to meet vastly different andsometimes conflicting performance dimensions and services. New RadioAccess Technology (RAT) is expected to support a broad range of usecases including Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine TypeCommunication (mMTC), Mission Critical Machine Type Communication(uMTC), and similar service types operating in frequency ranges up to100 GHz.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from thedetailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example,features of the disclosure; and, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates link level results in terms of probability ofmisdetection versus Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in accordance with anexample;

FIG. 2a illustrates an initial signal in accordance with an example;

FIG. 2b illustrates an initial signal in accordance with an example;

FIG. 3 illustrates link level results in terms of probability ofmisdetection versus Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in accordance with anexample;

FIG. 4 illustrates a structure of the hopped channel in accordance withan example;

FIG. 5 illustrates an initial signal transmitted in the first maximumchannel occupancy time (MCOT) in accordance with an example;

FIG. 6a illustrates an initial signal transmitted in multiple maximumchannel occupancy times (MCOTs) in accordance with an example;

FIG. 6b illustrates an initial signal transmitted in multiple maximumchannel occupancy times (MCOTs) in accordance with an example;

FIG. 7 depicts functionality of a next generation node B (gNB) operablefor frequency hopping in enhanced machine type unlicensed communication(eMTC-U) in accordance with an example;

FIG. 8 illustrates functionality of a user equipment (UE) operable forfrequency hopping in enhanced machine type unlicensed communication(eMTC-U) in accordance with an example;

FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart of a machine readable storage medium havinginstructions embodied thereon for performing frequency hopping inenhanced machine type unlicensed communication (eMTC-U) in accordancewith an example;

FIG. 10 illustrates an architecture of a wireless network in accordancewith an example;

FIG. 11 illustrates a diagram of a wireless device (e.g., UE) inaccordance with an example;

FIG. 12 illustrates interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance withan example; and

FIG. 13 illustrates a diagram of a wireless device (e.g., UE) inaccordance with an example.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, andspecific language will be used herein to describe the same. It willnevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of thetechnology is thereby intended.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present technology is disclosed and described, it is to beunderstood that this technology is not limited to the particularstructures, process actions, or materials disclosed herein, but isextended to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by thoseordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understoodthat terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describingparticular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. The samereference numerals in different drawings represent the same element.Numbers provided in flow charts and processes are provided for clarityin illustrating actions and operations and do not necessarily indicate aparticular order or sequence.

EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

An initial overview of technology embodiments is provided below and thenspecific technology embodiments are described in further detail later.This initial summary is intended to aid readers in understanding thetechnology more quickly but is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the technology nor is it intended to limit thescope of the claimed subject matter.

Internet of Things (IoT) is envisioned as a significantly importanttechnology, that may change our daily life by enabling connectivitybetween a multitude of devices. IoT can have wide applications invarious scenarios, including smart cities, smart environment, smartagriculture, and smart health systems.

The 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has standardized twodesigns to support IoT services—enhanced Machine Type Communication(eMTC) and Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT). Because eMTC and NB-IoT userequipments (UEs) will be deployed in huge numbers, lowering the cost ofthese UEs can be a key enabler for implementation of IoT. Also, lowpower consumption can be desirable to extend the life time of thebattery. In addition, there can be substantial use cases of devicesdeployed deep inside buildings which could have coverage enhancement incomparison to the defined long term evolution (LTE) cell coveragefootprint. In summary, eMTC and NB-IoT techniques can be designed toensure that the UEs have low cost, low power consumption, and enhancedcoverage.

Both 3GPP Release 13 eMTC and 3GPP Release 13 NB-IoT can operate inlicensed spectrum. On the other hand, the scarcity of licensed spectrumin the low frequency band can result in a deficit in the data rateboost. Thus, there are emerging interests in the operation of 3GPP LTEsystems in unlicensed spectrum.

Potential 3GPP LTE operation in unlicensed spectrum includes but is notlimited to the Carrier Aggregation based LAA (licensed assistedaccess)/eLAA (enhanced LLA) systems, 3GPP LTE operation in theunlicensed spectrum via dual connectivity (DC), and the standalone 3GPPLTE system in the unlicensed spectrum, where LTE-based technology solelyoperates in unlicensed spectrum without using an “anchor” in licensedspectrum—called MulteFire (MF).

To extend the benefits of 3GPP LTE IoT designs into unlicensed spectrum,MulteFire 1.1 is expected to specify the design for Unlicensed-IoT(U-IoT). The current application falls in the scope of the U-IoTsystems, with a focus on the eMTC based U-IoT design. Note that similarapproaches can be used for NB-IoT based U-IoT design as well.

The unlicensed frequency band of interest in this application can be the2.4 GHz band or other unlicensed frequency bands. For globalavailability, the design should abide by the regulations in differentregions, e.g. the regulations given by the federal communicationscommission (FCC) in the US, the regulations given by the EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in Europe, or regulationsgiven by other governmental bodies designated to oversee communications.Based on these regulations, frequency hopping can be more appropriatethan other forms of modulations, due to more relaxed power spectrumdensity (PSD) limitations for frequency hopping. Specifically, frequencyhopping has no PSD limit while other wide band modulations have a PSDlimit of 10 decibel-milliwatts (dBm)/megahertz (MHz) in regulationsgiven by ETSI. The low PSD limit can result in limited coverage. Thus,this application focuses on the U-IoT with frequency hopping.

There are two types of frequency hopping: non-adaptive frequency hoppingand adaptive frequency hopping. For non-adaptive frequency hopping, theregulations in Europe use Medium Utilization (MU) up to 10%, where MU isdefined as (radio-frequency (RF) output power/100 milliwatts (mW)*Dutycycle). This can limit the downlink (DL) transmission time, which can beacceptable when UL traffic is heavy but is not applicable for moregeneral cases. Thus, a focus on adaptive frequency hopping can be usefulin overcoming the limit in the DL transmission time. The regulations inEurope for adaptive frequency hopping using listen-before-talk (LBT)based Detect And Avoid (DAA) have been promulgated.

With adaptive frequency hopping, the evolved node B (eNB) may or may notskip some channels or frequencies due to LBT failure. When the eNB skipssome busy channels or frequencies, UEs need to blindly detect whichchannel or frequencies the eNB has hopped to.

The UEs can know which channel or frequencies the eNB has hopped to invarious ways. For example, when the eNB skips the channel due to LBTfailure, the eNB can indicate if it will skip the channelsemi-statically e.g. via system information, such as master informationblock (MIB) or system information block (SIB). If the eNB does not skipthe channel, the UEs can follow the predefined or indicated frequencyhopping sequence for reception of DL transmission. When the eNB isconfigured to skip busy channels for downlink (DL), an initial signal atthe start of a DL maximum channel occupancy time (MCOT) can facilitatethe detection of the hopping channel. Moreover, the initial signal canalso carry the information on the frame structure in dynamic timedivision duplexing (TDD) scenarios. The initial signal can also bereferred to as a detection signal.

An initial signal or detection signal can be designed in various ways tofacilitate the detection of the hopping channel. A hopping channel canalso be referred to herein as a hopping frequency. In one example,cell-specific reference signal (CRS) can be used for presence detection.In the U-IoT design for MF, the presence detection for the initialsignal should comply with a target maximum coupling loss (MCL) of 130 dBper 20 dBm effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) with a receivernoise figure of 9 dB.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, link-level simulations show that the legacyCRS design does not reach the target MCL of 130 dB per 20 dBm EIRP. Inthe case of one CRS symbol as shown by the line with the circles, thegraph of signal to noise ratio (SNR) in dB versus misdetectionprobability shows that the target MCL is not reached by the legacy CRSdesign. In the case of 4 CRS symbols, as shown by the line with thesquares, the graph of signal to noise ratio (SNR) in dB versusmisdetection probability shows that the target MCL is not reached by thelegacy CRS design. In one example, the CRS can be power boosted in orderto meet the MCL target. In another example, the density of the CRS canbe increased in order to increase the presence detection performance andreach the MCL target.

In another example, an ad-hoc initial signal or detection signal can bedesigned in various ways. The initial signal can start at time X of asubframe, in which the time before time X can be used for channelswitching and/or a channel access procedure, such as clear channelassessment (CCA) sensing.

A channel access procedure, such as CCA sensing can be performed for aselected hopping frequency. When the energy detection of the CCA isgreater than a selected threshold, then a next hopping frequency can behopped to. When the energy detection of the CCA is lower than a selectedthreshold, then data can be encoded for downlink transmission at aselected dwell time of a determined hopping frequency.

In one example, as illustrated in FIG. 2a , time X can be the start ofsymbol 4. In this example, the first two symbols (i.e. symbols 0 and 1)can be used for channel switching and the following two symbols (i.e.symbols 2 and 3) can be used for CCA sensing.

In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 2b , time X can a fraction ofsymbol duration and can start partially into symbol 7. This case can beapplied for extended CCA (ECCA) sensing, in which the sensing durationcan be randomly generated.

A detection signal or initial signal can be located after the CCAsensing, wherein the detection signal can comprise a plurality ofcell-specific reference signals (CRS) to enable a user equipment (UE) todetect the dwell time of a determined hopping frequency. The pluralityof CRSs can have a Zadoff-Chu structure.

In another example, the initial signal or detection signal can span overY symbols, which can include Y₁ symbols carrying a sequence and Y₂symbols carrying data. As previously discussed, the presence detectionfor the initial signal should comply with a target MCL of 130 dB per 20dBm EIRP. As illustrated in FIG. 3, link level simulations show that theinitial signal should have a minimum length of at least: 8 orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in order to reach thistarget MCL if the receiver noise figure is 13 dB, or 4 OFDM symbols inorder to reach this target MCL if the receiver noise figure is 9 dB.

FIG. 3 shows link level results in terms of probability of misdetectionversus SNR as parametrized by the number of OFDM symbols over which theinitial signal extends for 6 physical resource blocks (PRBs). In thecase of 1 OFDM symbol, the probability of misdetection can be too highfor a noise figure of 13 dB. In the case of 2 OFDM symbols, theprobability of misdetection can be too high for a noise figure of 13 dB.In the case of 4 OFDM symbols, the probability of misdetection can betoo high for a noise figure of 13 dB. In the case of 8 OFDM symbols, theprobability of misdetection can be acceptable for a noise figure of 13dB.

In the case of 1 OFDM symbol, the probability of misdetection can be toohigh for a noise figure of 9 dB. In the case of 2 OFDM symbols, theprobability of misdetection can be too high for a noise figure of 9 dB.In the case of 4 OFDM symbols, the probability of misdetection can beacceptable for a noise figure of 9 dB. In the case of 8 OFDM symbols,the probability of misdetection can be acceptable for a noise figure of9 dB.

In another example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the hopped channel orhopped frequency can have a structure wherein symbols are allocated forchannel switching, followed by CCA sensing, followed by eCCA sensing,followed by the initial signal, and followed by the MCOT. In oneexample, the initial signal can start after 2 symbols used for channelswitching. In one embodiment, CCA is performed, and if it fails, it canbe followed by eCCA sensing, which can be repeated until the channel issensed to be available. eCCA sensing can be performed when the energydetection of the CCA is greater than a selected threshold. The eCCA canbe continued for up to 2 OFDM symbols plus an additional 1 ms.

In one example, if the CCA sensing operation can be 9 OFDM symbols long,then the initial signal, which can have a minimum length of 8 OFDMsymbols long, can extend over 2 subframes up until the 4^(th) symbol ofthe second subframe. If symbols are used for channel switching at thebeginning of the first subframe, then the initial signal can extend evenfurther.

In the structure of the hopped channel, as illustrated in FIG. 4, thetotal MCOT can be up to 80 milliseconds (ms). In another example, inorder to preserve the periodicity of the discovery reference signal(DRS) to a multiple of 80 ms, the MCOT can be 75 ms or a value that isconsistent with the periodicity of the anchor channel (i.e. 80 ms).

In one example, the initial symbols can span over Y symbols, in which Yis 10 symbols long. In another example, Y can be 17 or 24 symbols, whichcorrespond to the remaining symbols within the subframe performing CCAsensing plus a slot or a subframe following the initial subframe. Y canalso be fractional rather than an integer number. This can apply incases with eCCA, wherein the eCCA sensing can be randomly generated.

In another example, because eCCA can be completed at various times, Y₁can be adjustable with dependence on the completion of the eCCA, whileY₂ can be fixed.

In another example, Y₁ can have a limit which can be defined as greaterthan or equal to N and less than M, where N and M are positive integersthat can be predefined or semi-statically configured. For example, M canbe equal to N+1 and N can be 7 as illustrated in FIG. 2 b.

The initial signal or detection signal structure can have variousdesigns. In one example, a sequence can be transmitted on Y symbols, inwhich Y₁=Y and Y₂=0. For example, symbols 4 through 13 in FIG. 2a carrya sequence for presence detection.

In another example, Y₁ symbols can carry the sequence and Y₂ symbols cancarry the data, indicating the frame structure. The physical channelused for the data transmission can be based on physical downlink controlchannel (PDCCH), enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH) or physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH). For example, in FIG. 2b , symbols 4 through 10 cancarry the sequence and symbols 11-13 can carry the data.

In another example, the initial symbol can start at a fractionalduration rather than at a symbol boundary. In one example, the firstpartial symbol can be an extended cyclic prefix (CP) for the followingsymbol. As illustrated in FIG. 2b , the initial signal part of symbol 7can be the extended CP of symbol 8.

In another example, the eNB can transmit some reservation signal thatcan be transparent to the UE, and the initial signal can begin at thefollowing symbol boundary.

The sequence can have various designs. The base sequence can be aZadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence or a pseudo-random sequence. In one example, alength 71 ZC sequence with a root q can be used, and can depend on thecell identification (ID) or be fixed, and can be repeated in the timedomain over the multiple symbols over which the initial signal extends.

In another example, a cyclic shift can be used. The cyclic shift can beselected from a group of cyclic shifts based on the hopping. To handlethe intra-symbol and inter-symbol interference, an orthogonal cover code(OCC) can be applied. The OCC can be a Barker code or a Hadamard code.

In another example, the whole sequence generated by the ZC sequence orpseudo-random sequence can extend over the length of the initial signal.In one example, the sequence can be shorter and each symbol can becomprised of a shorter sequence that can be repeated multiple times inthe frequency domain.

In another example, cyclic shifts, intra-symbol, and inter-symbol OCCscan be applied. The configuration of the sequence, including the basesequence, CS, and/or OCC can be predefined, or selected based on theframe structure. For example, 8 OCCs can be used corresponding to 8 TDDconfigurations. In cases where the sequence length is adjustable, theinter-symbol OCC may not be applied.

In some examples, the symbol duration of the initial signal or detectionsignal can be shorter than other symbols which can be implemented viarepetition in the frequency domain. For example, the sequence can berepeated across PRBs. With an eMTC based design, 6 repetitions can occurin the frequency domain with each on one PRB. In the time domain, thesymbol duration can be 6 times shorter than the symbol duration in 3GPPLTE Rel. 8.

In one example, the initial symbol can be transmitted once per hoppedchannel, e.g. at the start of the first MCOT, as illustrated in FIG. 5.In the case of a dynamic TDD configuration, downlink control information(DCI) and enhanced interference mitigation and traffic adaptation(eIMTA) can be used for reconfiguration of a TDD structure in thefollowing MCOT. For static TDD or frequency division duplexing (FDD),the initial signal can be transmitted once per hopped channel asillustrated in FIG. 5.

In another example, the initial signal or detection signal can betransmitted at multiple MCOTs in addition to the first MCOT, asillustrated in FIG. 6a . In this example, the transmission of theinitial signal or detection signal at multiple MCOTs can provide adynamic configuration of frame structure in scenarios in which dynamicTDD is adopted. The sensing duration before each MCOT can vary dependingon the number of CCAs before sensing that the channel is idle.

In one example, before the CCA for each MCOT, some duration can still bereserved for channel switching, in order to preserve the same structurefor each MCOT, as illustrated in FIG. 6a . Alternatively, no durationmay be reserved for channel switching before each MCOT, as illustratedin FIG. 6 b.

Another example provides functionality 700 of a next generation node B(gNB) operable for frequency hopping in enhanced machine type unlicensedcommunication (eMTC-U) and/or MulteFire communications, as shown in FIG.7. The gNB can comprise one or more processors. The one or moreprocessors can be configured to perform a clear channel assessment (CCA)for a selected hopping frequency, as in block 710. The one or moreprocessors can be configured to identify, determine, select, orestablish a next hopping frequency in a set of hopping frequencies whenan energy detection of the CCA is greater than a selected threshold, asin block 720. The one or more processors can be configured to encodedata for a downlink transmission. The encoding and downlink may be basedon eMTC-U. The data can be encoded for downlink transmission at aselected dwell time of a determined hopping frequency in the set ofhopping frequencies when an energy detection of the CCA is less than aselected threshold, as in block 730. In one embodiment, the downlinktransmission can be formatted based on e-MTC-U standards. In addition,the gNB can comprise a memory interface configured to send the set ofhopping frequencies to a memory.

Another example provides functionality 800 of a user equipment (UE)operable for frequency hopping in MulteFire communications, as shown inFIG. 8. In one embodiment, the communication can be based on e-MTC-Ustandards. The UE can comprise one or more processors. The one or moreprocessors can be configured to detect a data segment using a detectionsignal, wherein the detection signal comprises a plurality ofcell-specific reference signals (CRS), as in block 810. The one or moreprocessors can be configured to encode data for uplink transmission inuplink subframes of the data segment, as in block 820. The one or moreprocessors can be configured to identify, determine, select, orestablish a next hopping frequency in a set of hopping frequencies, asin block 830. In addition, the UE can comprise a memory interfaceconfigured to send the data from a memory.

Another example provides at least one machine readable storage mediumhaving instructions 900 embodied thereon for frequency hopping inMulteFire communications and/or enhanced machine type unlicensed(eMTC-U) communication, as shown in FIG. 9. The instructions can beexecuted on a machine, where the instructions are included on at leastone computer readable medium or one non-transitory machine readablestorage medium. The instructions when executed perform: detecting a datasegment using a detection signal, wherein the detection signal comprisesa plurality of cell-specific reference signals (CRS), as in block 910.The instructions when executed perform: encoding data for uplinktransmission in uplink subframes of the data segment, as in block 920.The instructions when executed perform: identifying, determining,selecting, or establishing a next hopping frequency in a set of hoppingfrequencies, as in block 930.

While examples have been provided in which gNB has been specified, theyare not intended to be limiting. An evolved node B (eNB) can be used inplace of the gNB. Accordingly, unless otherwise stated, any exampleherein in which an eNodeB has been disclosed, can similarly be disclosedwith the use of a gNB (Next Generation node B).

FIG. 10 illustrates an architecture of a system 1000 of a network inaccordance with some embodiments. The system 1000 is shown to include auser equipment (UE) 1001 and a UE 1002. The UEs 1001 and 1002 areillustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computingdevices connectable to one or more cellular networks), but may alsocomprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as PersonalData Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers,wireless handsets, or any computing device including a wirelesscommunications interface.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 1001 and 1002 can comprise anInternet of Things (IoT) UE, which can comprise a network access layerdesigned for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UEconnections. An IoT UE can utilize technologies such asmachine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) forexchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land mobilenetwork (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or device-to-device(D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTCexchange of data may be a machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoTnetwork describes interconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquelyidentifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internetinfrastructure), with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs may executebackground applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates,etc.) to facilitate the connections of the IoT network.

The UEs 1001 and 1002 may be configured to connect, e.g.,communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN) 1010—the RAN1010 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN(NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UEs 1001 and 1002 utilizeconnections 1003 and 1004, respectively, each of which comprises aphysical communications interface or layer (discussed in further detailbelow); in this example, the connections 1003 and 1004 are illustratedas an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can beconsistent with cellular communications protocols, such as a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code-divisionmultiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol,a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution(LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR)protocol, and the like.

In this embodiment, the UEs 1001 and 1002 may further directly exchangecommunication data via a ProSe interface 1005. The ProSe interface 1005may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising oneor more logical channels, including but not limited to a PhysicalSidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel(PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a PhysicalSidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

The UE 1002 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP)1006 via connection 1007. The connection 1007 can comprise a localwireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE802.15 protocol, wherein the AP 1006 would comprise a wireless fidelity(WiFi®) router. In this example, the AP 1006 is shown to be connected tothe Internet without connecting to the core network of the wirelesssystem (described in further detail below).

The RAN 1010 can include one or more access nodes that enable theconnections 1003 and 1004. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred toas base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next GenerationNodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations(e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providingcoverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). The RAN 1010 mayinclude one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macro RANnode 1011, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells orpicocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller usercapacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low power(LP) RAN node 1012.

Any of the RAN nodes 1011 and 1012 can terminate the air interfaceprotocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 1001 and1002. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 1011 and 1012 canfulfill various logical functions for the RAN 1010 including, but notlimited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radiobearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource managementand data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 1001 and 1002 can beconfigured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any ofthe RAN nodes 1011 and 1012 over a multicarrier communication channel inaccordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limitedto, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SingleCarrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communicationtechnique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications),although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlinktransmissions from any of the RAN nodes 1011 and 1012 to the UEs 1001and 1002, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. Thegrid can be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid ortime-frequency resource grid, which is the physical resource in thedownlink in each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is acommon practice for OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radioresource allocation. Each column and each row of the resource gridcorresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively.The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to oneslot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resourcegrid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises anumber of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certainphysical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises acollection of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this mayrepresent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can beallocated. There are several different physical downlink channels thatare conveyed using such resource blocks.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data andhigher-layer signaling to the UEs 1001 and 1002. The physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport formatand resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among otherthings. It may also inform the UEs 1001 and 1002 about the transportformat, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request)information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlinkscheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to theUE 1002 within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 1011 and1012 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs1001 and 1002. The downlink resource assignment information may be senton the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 1001 and 1002.

The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the controlinformation. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCHcomplex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, whichmay then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching.Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, whereeach CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elementsknown as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase ShiftKeying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can betransmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of thedownlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There canbe four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with differentnumbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for controlchannel information that are an extension of the above-describedconcepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physicaldownlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for controlinformation transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one ormore enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above,each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elementsknown as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may haveother numbers of EREGs in some situations.

The RAN 1010 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network(CN) 1020—via an S1 interface 1013. In embodiments, the CN 1020 may bean evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC)network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment the S1 interface1013 is split into two parts: the S1-U interface 1014, which carriestraffic data between the RAN nodes 1011 and 1012 and the serving gateway(S-GW) 1022, and the S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 1015,which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 1011 and 1012 andMMEs 1021.

In this embodiment, the CN 1020 comprises the MMEs 1021, the S-GW 1022,the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 1023, and a home subscriberserver (HSS) 1024. The MMEs 1021 may be similar in function to thecontrol plane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 1021 may manage mobility aspects inaccess such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. TheHSS 1024 may comprise a database for network users, includingsubscription-related information to support the network entities'handling of communication sessions. The CN 1020 may comprise one orseveral HSSs 1024, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on thecapacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. Forexample, the HSS 1024 can provide support for routing/roaming,authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, locationdependencies, etc.

The S-GW 1022 may terminate the Si interface 1013 towards the RAN 1010,and routes data packets between the RAN 1010 and the CN 1020. Inaddition, the S-GW 1022 may be a local mobility anchor point forinter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPPmobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging,and some policy enforcement.

The P-GW 1023 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW 1023may route data packets between the EPC network 1023 and externalnetworks such as a network including the application server 1030(alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an InternetProtocol (IP) interface 1025. Generally, the application server 1030 maybe an element offering applications that use IP bearer resources withthe core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services (PS) domain, LTE PS dataservices, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW 1023 is shown to becommunicatively coupled to an application server 1030 via an IPcommunications interface 1025. The application server 1030 can also beconfigured to support one or more communication services (e.g.,Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, groupcommunication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs1001 and 1002 via the CN 1020.

The P-GW 1023 may further be a node for policy enforcement and chargingdata collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 1026 isthe policy and charging control element of the CN 1020. In a non-roamingscenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land MobileNetwork (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol ConnectivityAccess Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with localbreakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE'sIP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF(V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF1026 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 1030 viathe P-GW 1023. The application server 1030 may signal the PCRF 1026 toindicate a new service flow and select the appropriate Quality ofService (QoS) and charging parameters. The PCRF 1026 may provision thisrule into a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown)with the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class ofidentifier (QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified bythe application server 1030.

FIG. 11 illustrates example components of a device 1100 in accordancewith some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 1100 may includeapplication circuitry 1102, baseband circuitry 1104, Radio Frequency(RF) circuitry 1106, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1108, one or moreantennas 1110, and power management circuitry (PMC) 1112 coupledtogether at least as shown. The components of the illustrated device1100 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, thedevice 1100 may include less elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilizeapplication circuitry 1102, and instead include a processor/controllerto process IP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, thedevice 1100 may include additional elements such as, for example,memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O)interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may beincluded in more than one device (e.g., said circuitries may beseparately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN)implementations).

The application circuitry 1102 may include one or more applicationprocessors. For example, the application circuitry 1102 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core ormulti-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsor operating systems to run on the device 1100. In some embodiments,processors of application circuitry 1102 may process IP data packetsreceived from an EPC.

The baseband circuitry 1104 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 1104 may include one or more baseband processors orcontrol logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signalpath of the RF circuitry 1106 and to generate baseband signals for atransmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1106. Baseband processingcircuity 1104 may interface with the application circuitry 1102 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 1106. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 1104 may include a third generation (3G) basebandprocessor 1104 a, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1104 b, afifth generation (5G) baseband processor 1104 c, or other basebandprocessor(s) 1104 d for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation(2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 1104 (e.g.,one or more of baseband processors 1104 a-d) may handle various radiocontrol functions that enable communication with one or more radionetworks via the RF circuitry 1106. In other embodiments, some or all ofthe functionality of baseband processors 1104 a-d may be included inmodules stored in the memory 1104 g and executed via a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU) 1104 e. The radio control functions may include,but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation,encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments,modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1104 mayinclude Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellationmapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decodingcircuitry of the baseband circuitry 1104 may include convolution,tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check(LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments ofmodulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are notlimited to these examples and may include other suitable functionalityin other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may include one or moreaudio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 1104 f The audio DSP(s) 1104 fmay be include elements for compression/decompression and echocancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in otherembodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitablycombined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a samecircuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all ofthe constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1104 and theapplication circuitry 1102 may be implemented together such as, forexample, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1104 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN).Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1104 is configured tosupport radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may bereferred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 1106 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 1106 may include switches,filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with thewireless network. RF circuitry 1106 may include a receive signal pathwhich may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from theFEM circuitry 1108 and provide baseband signals to the basebandcircuitry 1104. RF circuitry 1106 may also include a transmit signalpath which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals providedby the baseband circuitry 1104 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 1108 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1106may include mixer circuitry 1106 a, amplifier circuitry 1106 b andfilter circuitry 1106 c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal pathof the RF circuitry 1106 may include filter circuitry 1106 c and mixercircuitry 1106 a. RF circuitry 1106 may also include synthesizercircuitry 1106 d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixercircuitry 1106 a of the receive signal path and the transmit signalpath. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106 a of the receivesignal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received fromthe FEM circuitry 1108 based on the synthesized frequency provided bysynthesizer circuitry 1106 d. The amplifier circuitry 1106 b may beconfigured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filtercircuitry 1106 c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter(BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-convertedsignals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals maybe provided to the baseband circuitry 1104 for further processing. Insome embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequencybaseband signals, although this is not a necessity. In some embodiments,mixer circuitry 1106 a of the receive signal path may comprise passivemixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in thisrespect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106 a of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1106 d togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1108. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1104 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 1106 c.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106 a of the receive signalpath and the mixer circuitry 1106 a of the transmit signal path mayinclude two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadraturedownconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, themixer circuitry 1106 a of the receive signal path and the mixercircuitry 1106 a of the transmit signal path may include two or moremixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley imagerejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106 a of thereceive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1106 a may be arranged fordirect downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 1106 a of the receive signal path andthe mixer circuitry 1106 a of the transmit signal path may be configuredfor super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 1106 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry1104 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 1106.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1106 d may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 1106 d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequencymultiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with afrequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 1106 d may be configured to synthesize anoutput frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1106 a of the RFcircuitry 1106 based on a frequency input and a divider control input.In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1106 d may be afractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a necessity. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1104 orthe applications processor 1102 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 1102.

Synthesizer circuitry 1106 d of the RF circuitry 1106 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1106 d may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In someembodiments, the RF circuitry 1106 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 1108 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 1110, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1106 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 1108 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 1106 for transmission by oneor more of the one or more antennas 1110. In various embodiments, theamplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be donesolely in the RF circuitry 1106, solely in the FEM 1108, or in both theRF circuitry 1106 and the FEM 1108.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1108 may include a TX/RX switchto switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA toamplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RFsignals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1106). The transmitsignal path of the FEM circuitry 1108 may include a power amplifier (PA)to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 1106), andone or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission(e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1110).

In some embodiments, the PMC 1112 may manage power provided to thebaseband circuitry 1104. In particular, the PMC 1112 may controlpower-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DCconversion. The PMC 1112 may often be included when the device 1100 iscapable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device isincluded in a UE. The PMC 1112 may increase the power conversionefficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heatdissipation characteristics.

While FIG. 11 shows the PMC 1112 coupled only with the basebandcircuitry 1104. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 1112 may beadditionally or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar powermanagement operations for, other components such as, but not limited to,application circuitry 1102, RF circuitry 1106, or FEM 1108.

In some embodiments, the PMC 1112 may control, or otherwise be part of,various power saving mechanisms of the device 1100. For example, if thedevice 1100 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected tothe RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may entera state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period ofinactivity. During this state, the device 1100 may power down for briefintervals of time and thus save power.

If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time,then the device 1100 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where itdisconnects from the network and does not perform operations such aschannel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 1100 goes into avery low power state and it performs paging where again it periodicallywakes up to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device1100 may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, itcan transition back to RRC_Connected state.

An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable tothe network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging fromseconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totallyunreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sentduring this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay isacceptable.

Processors of the application circuitry 1102 and processors of thebaseband circuitry 1104 may be used to execute elements of one or moreinstances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the basebandcircuitry 1104, alone or in combination, may be used execute Layer 3,Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the applicationcircuitry 1104 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) received from theselayers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g., transmissioncommunication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers).As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a radio resource control(RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein,Layer 2 may comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio linkcontrol (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described infurther detail below.

FIG. 12 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry inaccordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the basebandcircuitry 1104 of FIG. 11 may comprise processors 1104 a-1104 e and amemory 1104 g utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 1104a-1104 e may include a memory interface, 1204 a-1204 e, respectively, tosend/receive data to/from the memory 1104 g.

The baseband circuitry 1104 may further include one or more interfacesto communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memoryinterface 1212 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memoryexternal to the baseband circuitry 1104), an application circuitryinterface 1214 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from theapplication circuitry 1102 of FIG. 11), an RF circuitry interface 1216(e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 1106 ofFIG. 11), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 1218 (e.g., aninterface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NFC)components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi®components, and other communication components), and a power managementinterface 1220 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or controlsignals to/from the PMC 1112.

FIG. 13 provides an example illustration of the wireless device, such asa user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile wireless device,a mobile communication device, a tablet, a handset, or other type ofwireless device. The wireless device can include one or more antennasconfigured to communicate with a node, macro node, low power node (LPN),or, transmission station, such as a base station (BS), an evolved Node B(eNB), a baseband processing unit (BBU), a remote radio head (RRH), aremote radio equipment (RRE), a relay station (RS), a radio equipment(RE), or other type of wireless wide area network (WWAN) access point.The wireless device can be configured to communicate using at least onewireless communication standard such as, but not limited to, 3GPP LTE,WiMAX, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Bluetooth, and WiFi. Thewireless device can communicate using separate antennas for eachwireless communication standard or shared antennas for multiple wirelesscommunication standards. The wireless device can communicate in awireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network(WPAN), and/or a WWAN. The wireless device can also comprise a wirelessmodem. The wireless modem can comprise, for example, a wireless radiotransceiver and baseband circuitry (e.g., a baseband processor). Thewireless modem can, in one example, modulate signals that the wirelessdevice transmits via the one or more antennas and demodulate signalsthat the wireless device receives via the one or more antennas.

FIG. 13 also provides an illustration of a microphone and one or morespeakers that can be used for audio input and output from the wirelessdevice. The display screen can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen,or other type of display screen such as an organic light emitting diode(OLED) display. The display screen can be configured as a touch screen.The touch screen can use capacitive, resistive, or another type of touchscreen technology. An application processor and a graphics processor canbe coupled to internal memory to provide processing and displaycapabilities. A non-volatile memory port can also be used to providedata input/output options to a user. The non-volatile memory port canalso be used to expand the memory capabilities of the wireless device. Akeyboard can be integrated with the wireless device or wirelesslyconnected to the wireless device to provide additional user input. Avirtual keyboard can also be provided using the touch screen.

EXAMPLES

The following examples pertain to specific technology embodiments andpoint out specific features, elements, or actions that can be used orotherwise combined in achieving such embodiments.

Example 1 includes an apparatus of a next generation node B (gNB)operable for frequency hopping in MulteFire and/or e-MTC-Ucommunications, the apparatus comprising: one or more processorsconfigured to: perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) for a selectedhopping frequency; identify a next hopping frequency in a set of hoppingfrequencies when an energy detection of the CCA is greater than aselected threshold; and encode data for a downlink transmission at aselected dwell time of a determined hopping frequency in the set ofhopping frequencies when an energy detection of the CCA is less than aselected threshold; and a memory interface configured to send the set ofhopping frequencies to a memory.

Example 2 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: decode data in an uplinktransmission at one of the selected hopping frequencies.

Example 3 includes the apparatus of Example 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: encode a detection signal locatedafter the CCA, wherein the detection signal comprises a plurality ofcell-specific reference signals (CRS).

Example 4 includes the apparatus of Example 3, wherein the plurality ofCRSs have a Zadoff-Chu structure.

Example 5 includes the apparatus of Example 3, wherein the detectionsignal comprising the plurality of CRSs is transmitted in a plurality oforthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols withoutadditional data in the OFDM symbols to enable power to be allocated tothe transmission of the plurality of reference signals.

Example 6 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 5, wherein theone or more processors are further configured to: encode the data forthe downlink transmission in a data segment of the selected dwell timeof the determined hopping frequencies in the set of hopping frequencies,wherein the data segment has a length of 75 milliseconds (ms) and thedwell time has a length of 80 ms.

Example 7 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 5, wherein theone or more processors are further configured to: perform an extendedclear channel assessment (eCCA) for the selected hopping frequency whenthe energy detection of the CCA is greater than a selected threshold.

Example 8 includes the apparatus of Example 7, wherein the eCCA iscontinued for up to 2 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)symbols.

Example 9 includes the apparatus of Example 8, wherein the eCCA iscontinued for an additional 1 millisecond.

Example 10 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 1 to 5, wherein theone or more processors are further configured to: encode a plurality ofcell-specific reference signals (CRSs) in the downlink transmissionwithin the data.

Example 11 includes an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) operable forfrequency hopping in MulteFire communications, the apparatus comprising:one or more processors configured to: detect a data segment using adetection signal, wherein the detection signal comprises a plurality ofcell-specific reference signals (CRS); encode data for uplinktransmission in uplink subframes of the data segment; and identify anext hopping frequency in a set of hopping frequencies; and a memoryinterface configured to send the data from a memory.

Example 12 includes the apparatus of Example 11, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to: perform blind detection of thedetection signal to determine a location of a subsequent data segmentwhen a next generation node B (gNB) skips a hopping frequency and time.

Example 13 includes the apparatus of Example 11, wherein the detectionsignal comprising the plurality of CRSs is received in a plurality oforthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols withoutadditional data in the OFDM symbols to enable power to be allocated tothe receiving of the plurality of reference signals.

Example 14 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 11 to 13, whereinthe detection signal comprises a plurality of cell-specific referencesignals (CRS) to enable the UE to detect a selected dwell time of adetermined hopping frequency.

Example 15 includes the apparatus of Example 14, wherein the detectionsignal comprising the plurality of CRSs has a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

Example 16 includes the apparatus of any of Examples 11 to 13, whereinthe one or more processors are further configured to: decode a pluralityof cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) in the downlink transmissionwithin the data.

Example 17 includes at least one machine readable storage medium havinginstructions embodied thereon for frequency hopping in MulteFirecommunications, the instructions when executed by one or more processorsat a user equipment (UE) perform the following: detecting a data segmentusing a detection signal, wherein the detection signal comprises aplurality of cell-specific reference signals (CRS); encoding data foruplink transmission in uplink subframes of the data segment; andidentifying a next hopping frequency in a set of hopping frequencies.

Example 18 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium ofExample 17, further comprising instructions that when executed perform:performing blind detection of the detection signal to determine alocation of a subsequent data segment when a next generation node B(gNB) skips a hopping frequency and time.

Example 19 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium ofExample 17, wherein the detection signal comprising the plurality ofCRSs is received in a plurality of orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM) symbols without additional data in the OFDM symbolsto enable power to be allocated to the receiving of the plurality ofreference signals.

Example 20 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium ofany of Examples 17 to 19, wherein the detection signal comprises aplurality of cell-specific reference signals (CRS) to enable the UE todetect a selected dwell time of a determined hopping frequency.

Example 21 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium ofExample 20, wherein the detection signal comprising the plurality ofCRSs has a Zadoff-Chu sequence.

Example 22 includes the at least one machine readable storage medium ofany of Examples 17 to 19, further comprising instructions that whenexecuted perform: decoding a plurality of cell-specific referencesignals (CRSs) in the downlink transmission within the data.

Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take theform of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media,such as floppy diskettes, compact disc-read-only memory (CD-ROMs), harddrives, non-transitory computer readable storage medium, or any othermachine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loadedinto and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomesan apparatus for practicing the various techniques. In the case ofprogram code execution on programmable computers, the computing devicemay include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor(including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile andnon-volatile memory and/or storage elements may be a random-accessmemory (RAM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), flashdrive, optical drive, magnetic hard drive, solid state drive, or othermedium for storing electronic data. The node and wireless device mayalso include a transceiver module (i.e., transceiver), a counter module(i.e., counter), a processing module (i.e., processor), and/or a clockmodule (i.e., clock) or timer module (i.e., timer). In one example,selected components of the transceiver module can be located in a cloudradio access network (C-RAN). One or more programs that may implement orutilize the various techniques described herein may use an applicationprogramming interface (API), reusable controls, and the like. Suchprograms may be implemented in a high level procedural or objectoriented programming language to communicate with a computer system.However, the program(s) may be implemented in assembly or machinelanguage, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled orinterpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electroniccircuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory(shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitablehardware components that provide the described functionality. In someembodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functionsassociated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or moresoftware or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may includelogic, at least partially operable in hardware.

It should be understood that many of the functional units described inthis specification have been labeled as modules, in order to moreparticularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, amodule may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising customvery-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays,off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or otherdiscrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmablehardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmablearray logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by varioustypes of processors. An identified module of executable code may, forinstance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computerinstructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object,procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identifiedmodule may not be physically located together, but may comprisedisparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joinedlogically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purposefor the module.

Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may even be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across several memory devices.Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated hereinwithin modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organizedwithin any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may becollected as a single data set, or may be distributed over differentlocations including over different storage devices, and may exist, atleast partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network.The modules may be passive or active, including agents operable toperform desired functions.

Reference throughout this specification to “an example” or “exemplary”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment ofthe present technology. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in an example”or the word “exemplary” in various places throughout this specificationare not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositionalelements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list forconvenience. However, these lists should be construed as though eachmember of the list is individually identified as a separate and uniquemember. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as ade facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based ontheir presentation in a common group without indications to thecontrary. In addition, various embodiments and example of the presenttechnology may be referred to herein along with alternatives for thevarious components thereof. It is understood that such embodiments,examples, and alternatives are not to be construed as defactoequivalents of one another, but are to be considered as separate andautonomous representations of the present technology.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are provided, such asexamples of layouts, distances, network examples, etc., to provide athorough understanding of embodiments of the technology. One skilled inthe relevant art will recognize, however, that the technology can bepracticed without one or more of the specific details, or with othermethods, components, layouts, etc. In other instances, well-knownstructures, materials, or operations are not shown or described indetail to avoid obscuring aspects of the technology.

While the forgoing examples are illustrative of the principles of thepresent technology in one or more particular applications, it will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerousmodifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be madewithout the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing fromthe principles and concepts of the technology. Accordingly, it is notintended that the technology be limited, except as by the claims setforth below.

What is claimed is: 1-22. (canceled)
 23. An apparatus of a nextgeneration node B (gNB) operable for frequency hopping in MulteFirecommunications, the apparatus comprising: one or more processorsconfigured to: perform a channel access procedure for a selected hoppingfrequency; identify a next hopping frequency in a set of hoppingfrequencies when an energy detection of the channel access procedure isgreater than a selected threshold; and encode data for a downlinktransmission at a selected dwell time of a determined hopping frequencyin the set of hopping frequencies when an energy detection of thechannel access procedure is less than a selected threshold; and a memoryinterface configured to send the set of hopping frequencies to a memory.24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the one or more processors arefurther configured to: decode data in an uplink transmission at one ofthe selected hopping frequencies.
 25. The apparatus of claim 23, whereinthe one or more processors are further configured to: encode a detectionsignal located after the channel access procedure, wherein the detectionsignal comprises one or more cell-specific reference signals (CRSs). 26.The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more CRSs have aZadoff-Chu structure.
 27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein thedetection signal comprising the one or more CRSs is transmitted in aplurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolswithout additional data in the OFDM symbols to enable power to beallocated to the transmission of the one or more reference signals. 28.The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the one or more processors arefurther configured to: encode the data for the downlink transmission ina data segment of the selected dwell time of the determined hoppingfrequencies in the set of hopping frequencies, wherein the data segmenthas a length of 75 milliseconds (ms) and the dwell time has a length of80 ms.
 29. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the one or more processorsare further configured to: encode one or more cell-specific referencesignals (CRSs) in the downlink transmission within the data.
 30. Theapparatus of claim 23, further comprising a transceiver configured to:transmit the data for downlink transmission at the selected dwell timeof the determined hopping frequency in the set of hopping frequencieswhen the energy detection of the channel access procedure is less thanthe selected threshold.
 31. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE)operable for frequency hopping MulteFire communications, the apparatuscomprising: one or more processors configured to: detect a data segmentusing a detection signal, wherein the detection signal comprises one ormore cell-specific reference signals (CRSs); encode data for uplinktransmission in uplink subframes of the data segment; and identify anext hopping frequency in a set of hopping frequencies; and a memoryinterface configured to send the data to a memory.
 32. The apparatus ofclaim 31, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:perform blind detection of the detection signal to determine a locationof a subsequent data segment when a next generation node B (gNB) skips ahopping frequency and time.
 33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein thedetection signal comprising the one or more CRSs is received in aplurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolswithout additional data in the OFDM symbols to enable power to beallocated to the receiving of the one or more reference signals.
 34. Theapparatus of claim 31, wherein the detection signal comprises one ormore cell-specific reference signals (CRS) to enable the UE to detect aselected dwell time of a determined hopping frequency.
 35. The apparatusof claim 34, wherein the detection signal comprising the one or moreCRSs has a Zadoff-Chu sequence.
 36. The apparatus of claim 31, whereinthe one or more processors are further configured to: decode one or morecell-specific reference signals (CRSs) in the downlink transmissionwithin the data.
 37. At least one non-transitory machine readablestorage medium having instructions embodied thereon for frequencyhopping in MulteFire communications, the instructions when executed byone or more processors at a user equipment (UE) perform the following:detecting a data segment using a detection signal, wherein the detectionsignal comprises one or more cell-specific reference signals (CRSs);encoding data for uplink transmission in uplink subframes of the datasegment; and identifying a next hopping frequency in a set of hoppingfrequencies.
 38. The at least one non-transitory machine readablestorage medium of claim 37, further comprising instructions that whenexecuted perform: performing blind detection of the detection signal todetermine a location of a subsequent data segment when a next generationnode B (gNB) skips a hopping frequency and time.
 39. The at least onenon-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 37, wherein thedetection signal comprising the one or more CRSs is received in aplurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbolswithout additional data in the OFDM symbols to enable power to beallocated to the receiving of the one or more reference signals.
 40. Theat least one non-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 37,wherein the detection signal comprises one or more cell-specificreference signals (CRSs) to enable the UE to detect a selected dwelltime of a determined hopping frequency.
 41. The at least onenon-transitory machine readable storage medium of claim 40, wherein thedetection signal comprising the one or more CRSs has a Zadoff-Chusequence.
 42. The at least one non-transitory machine readable storagemedium of claims 41, further comprising instructions that when executedperform: decoding one or more cell-specific reference signals (CRSs) inthe downlink transmission within the data.